Episode 54: The battle is raging hot

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Published: 22 Sha'ban 1434 AH

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Ibn Shihab said: Kathir ibn `Abbas ibn `Abdul-Muttalib said: `Abbas said: I was in the company of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) on the Day of Hunayn. I and Abu Sufyan ibn Al Harith ibn `Abdul-Muttalib stuck to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and we did not separate from him. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was riding on his white mule which had been presented to him by Farwah ibn Nufathah Al Judhamy. When Muslims had an encounter with the disbelievers, Muslims fled falling back, but the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) began to spur his mule towards the disbelievers. I was holding the bridle of the mule of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) checking it from going very fast, and Abu Sufyan was holding the stirrup of the (mule of the) Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), who said: `Abbas, call out to the people of As-Samurah. `Abbas (who was a man with a loud voice) called out with a loud voice: Where are the people of As-Samurah? (`Abbas said: ) And by Allah, when they heard my voice, they came back (to us) as cows come back to their calves, and said: We are present, we are present! `Abbas said: They began to fight the infidels. Then there was a call to the Ansar. Those (who called out to them) shouted: O you party of the Ansar! O party of the Ansar! Banu Al Harith ibn Al Khazraj were the last to be called. Those (who called out to them) shouted: O Banu Al Harith ibn Al Khazraj! O Banu Al Harith ibn Al Khazraj! And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) who was riding on his mule looked at their fight with his neck stretched forward and he said: This is the time when the fight is raging hot. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) took (some) pebbles and threw them in the face of the infidels. Then he said: By the Lord of Muhammad, the infidels are defeated. `Abbas said: I went round and saw that the battle was in the same condition in which I had seen it. By Allah, it remained in the same condition until he threw the pebbles. I continued to watch until I found that their force had been spent out and they began to retreat (1)

Explanation of vocabularies (2)

(As-Samurah) A tree under which the Companions gave the Prophet (peace be upon him) the pledge to fight the infidels on the day of Al Hudaybiyah.

(The fight is raging hot) is an example for the intensity of the battle which is hot like an oven.

Lessons gained from the Hadith: (3)

1- As for the Prophet's saying: “The fight is raging hot,” scholars said: This word is very eloquent and was not said before by anyone except the Prophet (peace be upon him).

2- The Prophet accepted the gift of disbelievers [i.e., his mule].

3- Scholars said: Riding his mule at that time of the battle is an intensive courage of him. Moreover, he is a model example to follow by Muslims and hearts feel comfort when they see him. He rode his mule on purpose to bring about comfort to Muslims' hearts otherwise he would have ridden his well-known horses.

4- The Prophet (peace be upon him) is courageous because he spurred his mule to attack the polytheists while all Muslims fled from around him. In another narration: He got off his mule when polytheists were coming to attack him and that was an absolute courage and patience.

5- The virtue of the Ansar (Helpers, inhabitants of Medina who supported the Prophet may Allah be pleased with them) when he called them to fight. When they heard the call of Al `Abbas ibn ibn `Abdul-Muttalib, they rushed back to battle to help the Prophet (peace be upon him), stand by his side in the fight, and defend him.

6- Scholars said: The Hadith is a clear evidence that their absconding was not far and was not done by all of them but only started by those in whose hearts there were diseases from the people of Makkah who embraced Islam recently. Their defeat was done suddenly because they were attacked suddenly and intensively. Taking into consideration that the Muslim army contained women and children who came out to collect the booty, but when Muslims fled, children and women became fully uncovered until Allah sent down tranquility upon their hearts as Allah said in the Qur'an.

7- The Hadith contains two miracles that were done by the Prophet (peace be upon him): 1- The Prophet (peace be upon him) told his Companions about the defeat of the disbelievers which was done as he said. 2- He throw them by pebbles and they escaped despite their power.